As the fourth quarter crossed its midway point, the Mavericks were in the midst of a scoring run.
Luka Doncic had been responsible for 11 straight points for Dallas, as the hosts had trimmed a 14-point Boston lead to just six. Recognizing that his team needed to come together and push through on the second night of a back-to-back, Joe Mazzulla wisely called for a timeout.
Immediately following the timeout, Jrue Holiday passed to Jaylen Brown in the corner, who drove on Doncic and drilled a 12-foot fade away. Following two free throws by Doncic on the ensuing possession, Brown let a corner three fly right in front of Grant Williams and the Dallas bench. As Brown crashed to the floor, drawing a foul, the ball found nothing but net.
The triple pushed the All-NBA wing over 30 points on the night and stuck the dagger in the Mavs, as the Celtics went on to win 119-110.
The excuses were laid out for Boston. The Celtics were playing their third game in four nights, on the second night of a back-to-back, against a Mavericks team that hadn't played since Wednesday. Furthermore, Boston was without Kristaps Porzingis.
“The one thing we talked about - we showed it on our screen the other day - the NBA is full of narratives. You have a choice to fall into a narrative at any time,” Mazzulla said pregame. “There’s always a narrative to latch onto. We’ve got to make the choice every day to play the right way.”
Brown and Jayson Tatum exemplified this mindset, ensuring the Celtics wouldn’t succumb to the potential narratives surrounding the game.
Tatum (39 points) and Brown (34 points) combined for 73 points on 24-of-43 (55.8%) shooting, 14 rebounds, nine assists, and - most impressively - zero turnovers, becoming the first teammates in NBA history to each log at least 30 points, two blocks, and zero turnovers in the same game.
It also marked their third game this month with at least 30 points apiece, with the Celtics advancing to 27-2 all-time in such games.
After struggling to score over their last two games, shooting a combined 25-of-75 (33.3%), the Jays set the tone from the start. As the Celtics struggled to find their shot early, Tatum kept them afloat, pouring in 13 of Boston’s 24 points in the first quarter on 4-of-6 (66.7%) shooting.
“I didn’t play as well as I wanted to yesterday, for whatever reason. But my teammates helped me out,” Tatum said postgame. “Tonight, I just wanted to come out and play better than I did yesterday.”
Tatum did just that. The three-time All-NBA wing came out aggressive, getting downhill from the start, with three of his four first-quarter makes coming in the paint, earning five trips to the free throw line. Tatum’s 13 points were the most he has scored in a first quarter this season.
The second quarter was Brown’s turn to get going, as the 27-year-old finished with a team-high 11 points in the period, shooting 4-of-5 (80%) – completely dominating Doncic in the process, including a stretch in which he scored seven consecutive points, comprising of a nasty crossover that had Doncic touching the earth and a three-point play.
Like Tatum, Brown came out aggressive, with two of his four makes in the frame coming in the paint and earning four free throws.
In total, 16 of their combined 24 makes (66.6%) came in the paint. Led by Tatum, who attempted 19 (second-most of his career), the duo also shot a combined 28 free throws.
While their scoring will be the main point of discussion, the defense of the Jays should be noticed.
Brown drew the assignment of Doncic for most of the game, and he domianted it -- attacking the Mavs star on the offensive end and holding him to a very inefficient 33 points on 12-of-30 shooting.
As Doncic made a late push for a comeback in the fourth quarter, scoring 13 points, Brown seemingly had an answer to every bucket, scoring 10 points of his own in the frame – while also coming up with some big defensive stops.
“I’ve been doing it all season. I’ve been guarding the best players on pretty much every single team night in and night out,” Brown said postgame when discussing the matchup with Doncic. “Earlier in the season, I would ask for those matchups. Now, it’s just kind of normalized.”
Brown and Tatum came up big defensively in the fourth quarter to preserve the Boston lead, each recording a timely block with under four minutes to go.
Tatum also recorded a steal and had a stretch where he played center in the final frame.
At the start of the season, Tatum and Brown emphasized improving their defense, with the goal of earning a spot on an All-Defensive team. True to their commitment, they’ve demonstrated noticeable defensive growth, solidifying their impact on that end of the court.
In 2022, when the Celtics made it to the NBA Finals, their success was rooted in a defense-first mindset, a strategy they've embraced once again this season. However, for a defense to work well in the NBA, all five players need to be on board — and often, that message has to come from the top.
As team leaders, the Jays have fully embraced the defensive focus, playing a pivotal role in Boston having the second-best defense in the league this season.
"There are two sides of the ball," Brown said. "So being able to apply pressure on both, you got to be at a certain level of shape to be able to do that. We want to put an emphasis on attacking and being aggressive on both sides of the ball."
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